From Geisha to Pack Priestess
by azukina
Summary: Kagome was about to become a full fledge geisha when all of a sudden she is kidnapped by a handsome hanyou who wants her to join his pack, a strange bunch of hanyous who were all rejected by their own kind. What is a girl to do when suddenly changed from
1. Meeting and Interesting Hanyou

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Chapter 1: Meeting and Interesting Hanyou

Tonight is a very special night for me…though I dread it so much I feel the need to vomit just thinking about it. I must sell my virginity to the highest bidder tonight; such is the life of a geisha. Once I sell my virginity I shall become a true geisha and my debt at my okiya will be finished. If my father had been stronger maybe I could have lived out the life I was meant to at the family shrine…instead of being forced to entertain such unruly men of war.

My name is Kagome Higurashi…I was raised on my family shrine, completely unawares to the racking up debts my father was creating through trying to keep up the place. When I turned 8 I was sold to an okiya in the village to the north of my village. The woman who I was sold to was cold and just wanted the money I would eventually bring in when I became a geisha. She didn't like my personality though she always blamed my eyes…they are an iridescent gray, sometimes blue depending on the light, that reminded her of how much water was in me. I am strong willed like a river and no matter what path I am lead down I cut a great gap and surge on. She didn't want a strong willed geisha …she wanted someone she could control.

"Kagome!" called the stern voice of her master, Kikyou Negura. The owner of the okiya was a former geisha herself. Kagome was to become the newest geisha, once she sold her virginity. The only full geisha at the okiya now a days was Sango…she was to be adopted by Kikyou to run the okiya soon but for some reason Kikyou was not so quick to take on such an heir for Sango did not like Kikyou at all mainly because she saw the abuse Kagome went through just because of her gray eyes.

Kagome looked at herself in the mirror blankly for a minute longer, deciding Kikyou could wait since she was about to take a major step tonight and didn't feel ready. Her white painted face was stark against her blood red lips, the black eye liner contrasted starkly with her eyes that had a blue tint in the shallow light of the room. Kagome stared into her own eyes after studying her long black hair done up ornamentally in an elegant bun. She had beautiful jade clips in her hair and a chopstick that stuck into the bun; it had hanging sakura blossoms off the wooden stick that swayed when she moved. Kikyou screamed for her again and with a sigh the apprentice geisha stood gracefully and walked across the wooden floors with her white socks. She came to the step leading down to the exit all and she stepped down into the zori sandals that awaited her.

Kagome walked out into the cool fall night air to see Sango and Kikyou standing there looking at her expectantly. Sango looked on in concern, remembering the night she sold her virginity, and Kikyou had a piercing glare pointed at the young girl of 15.

"Sango! Make sure she only gives these to the two wealthiest men that are interested. Understand?" Kikyou snapped to Sango giving Sango two red boxes that fit in each palm and were decorated with a small gift inside for the men who Kagome was to ask to bid for her virginity. She would have to give one to each man who would most likely bid for her in hopes they would each bid so eagerly that the price for her virginity would rise drastically.

Kagome got in the cart with Sango and as the driver lifted the poles and began to trot down the street to their destination Sango hugged the young girl. "Don't worry Kagome…just get someone rich to bid for you and you might be able to lose your debt sooner than expected alright?" Sango tried to ease the girl's mind but it was no good.

The geisha and soon-to-be geisha arrived at the tea house where many wealthy men came for entertainment. The evening seemed to pass normally. Kagome talked to the elderly men genially and made them laugh with quick wit and told them stories of her youth that deeply entertained. Sango instructed her to slip one box to a slightly perverted looking man who was the general in some arm to the south who was visiting. Kagome winced slightly when hearing her instructions and looked at the man who sort of scared her. She took a steadying breath and while talking to him she patted his leg and left the box after removing her hand.

The man felt the weight of the box and smirked at Kagome knowing what it meant. Kagome went on with the evening and saw another man eyeing her and she saw Sango study him for his worth. Kagome excused herself briefly from the group and stood to leave the room for a minute.

Kagome opened the shoji door and stepped out she shut the door behind her, cutting off the sounds of laughter. She walked away a little and was surprised when the door to the tea house/inn burst open and a man a few years older than her, maybe 20 years old, stepped in. He looked at Kagome and Kagome noticed his strange features.

Golden eyes stared at her intensely. A scowled pulled at the handsomely tanned face. Long silver hair floated down his back, he wore a red kimono that was drenched, like his hair, from the rain and he wore no shoes and had a sword at his hip. Kagome was curious about this stranger, especially when she caught sight of twitching dog ears atop his head. 'Is he a bodyguard to one of the men back there?' Kagome wondered. 'No…he's a demon I think…no doubt about that…my, he's handsome.' Kagome blushed prettily and bowed to the tall man gracefully.

"Hello…welcome to Okiyoko tea house." Kagome greeted friendly. The man blinked at her for a minute suspiciously. "Um…do you wish to join me with a party just in that room over there?" asked Kagome hopefully, indicating the room she just left. The man glanced at the door and then down at her. Kagome was so curious she had to know more about this man.

"No. But you may join my party in that room…" he indicated a room a little down the hall. Kagome blushed under the white makeup at his suggestion. Kagome stepped towards him a little.

"May I know your name first?" she asked shyly.

The man hesitated. "I don't like you humans Im only inviting you because my friend might enjoy you." He growled out in his deep voice. Kagome looked put out by his obvious rejection. She turned to walk back to her room but the second she reached for the door his clawed demonic hand latched onto her wrist and pulled her back away from the door. "Oi! If you fuckin' want company then you can do that stuff with Miroku, just cause I don't want to talk to you doesn't mean you gotta leave." He growled, he didn't know what possessed him to grab the girl but the thought of her leaving bother him for some reason.

Kagome turned and smiled at him. "I just wanted to talk to you…if you don't want to talk then I should head back to my party." Kagome turned to leave but he refused to release her wrist. Hearing her say that she just wanted to talk to him had a strange impact on him.

"Inuyasha!" he blurted out suddenly. Kagome looked up at him curiously. "My name I mean…it's Inuyasha…" When Kagome continued to stare at him in surprise he got impatient. "NOW will you come with me?" Inuyasha growled. Kagome nodded meekly and allowed the hanyou Inuyasha to drag her to the other room.

When they entered she found it to be a party for demons. She saw demons of all kind there, all except one man who was human. Half the room was filled with wolf demons she noted, their leader sat at one end of the table on an ornamental cushion. The other demons and the human were on the other half of the table, there were all kinds there but Kagome could sense a similar aura in them that she felt in Inuyasha. She couldn't tell what the difference was between them and the wolves but there was a difference.

Kagome gently glided along the floor to where Inuyasha chose to sit which happened to be on the second ornamental cushion across from the head wolf. 'So he's the leader of this motley crew?' she thought pensively. She sat down on a cushion beside him and also next to the human. She was surprised when the human leered at her with a perverted yet playful grin and then looked to Inuyasha.

"Decided to bring a geisha huh? Good idea Inuyasha…she can help the negotiations pass by quicker." The man said to Inuyasha who looked confused as to what he meant. "Now why don't you go tend to the head wolf demon over there?" Miroku prodded to Kagome encouragingly. Kagome didn't want to leave Inuyasha when around so many demonic men. She was relieved by Inuyasha's next words.

"She stays here by me monk…and if I catch YOU touching her Im slicing off one of your arms you hear?" Inuyasha growled. Kagome smiled slightly at the nervous look on the human man, Miroku's, face. Kagome picked up a tea pot on the table with a slender hand, quite aware that almost every male in the room was staring. She smiled up at Inuyasha and offered him a drink. Inuyasha quickly looked away from staring at her and snorted a "Feh!" Kagome smiled wider and poured the drink in a small cup.

She lifted it with practiced grace and offered it to the half demon. Inuyasha grunted what she assumed to be a thanks and took the cup.

"No Koga. Do you not remember our deal from two springs ago?" asked Inuyasha in forced politeness that didn't seem to suit him at all. Koga glared at Inuyasha.

"You know I do mutt. But your clansmen came onto my territory with out permission so I felt duly obligated to come onto your lands and hunt some of your game as compensation for what that half breed took!" Koga growled back while pointing at what appeared to be a fox demon. Then Kagome realized the difference between Inuyasha's demons and Koga's. Inuyasha's group was all half demons. This surprised her greatly, half demons were SO RARE. 'Doest that mean Inuyasha is one too?' she wondered looking up at the hanyou.

"Feh! He was not part of my clan then and just because he joined my clan after hunting in your territory does not give you the right to bring your scrawny wolves onto MY land!" Inuyasha snarled at the wolf in return. "Know this Koga I have never allowed any of my clan to go into your lands and I expect you to respect my lands or I will have to just claim your lands like I should have done 50 years ago you understand me?" Inuyasha growled. Koga returned the growl and after casting a death glare to the fox hanyou the wolf demon stood. Kagome noticed him glance at her and then left with a rush of wind. Once all the wolf demons were gone the tension in the room died down some.

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha curiously. "Are you alright Inuyasha?" she asked concerned by his heavy breathing and face flushed in anger. Inuyasha blinked and looked down at Kagome.

"Feh! Im fine. That stupid wolf doesn't know who he's messin' with." Inuyasha scoffed. Kagome giggled at his attitude.

"Where did you get the geisha Inuyasha? I would have thought she would be with that group of human war generals in the other room." A cat hanyou called out. Kagome blinked and looked away with a frown.

"Was that the party you invited me to? Human war generals?" Inuyasha asked with a frown. Kagome winced at his tone. She should have realized that inviting a demon to a party of humans would be awkward.

"I'm sorry…I wasn't thinking when I said that…I just wanted to know more about you." She whispered the last part as if hoping no one would hear her but her comment was followed by hoots and cat calls from the rowdy half demon males in the room. Inuyasha glared at his companions and quickly stood waving for the blushing Kagome to follow. Kagome followed him out into the hall way and reached into her kimono. She pulled out the red box and looked up at Inuyasha hopefully.

"Those idiots…don't mind them they are just horny from being away from their mates for over a month." Inuyasha shrugged. Kagome held the box behind her back and suddenly dreaded the thought of Inuyasha having a mate. Inuyasha eyed Kagome expectantly for a response.

"I-I…it's fine…um…thank you for letting me join your party Inuyasha…I'm about to be receiving bids for my most valuable possession soon and it was nice to be around such interesting people for once…Im always given human clients and being around demons was quite interesting…" Inuyasha knew what valuable possession geishas have biddings for and felt his heart sink, for some strange reason. But he felt heat suddenly rush through him when she gave him the small red box shyly. Inuyasha took it dumbly and looked at the shy little human girl. Kagome felt her face heat up suddenly and she turned around to go back to Sango when she was stopped by Inuyasha's voice.

"What's your name?" asked Inuyasha seriously. Kagome looked over her shoulder at him and smiled.

"Kagome…"

A/N: Hey everyone…tell me what you think…should I continue or delete it? Review please!


	2. Freedom?

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Memoirs of a Geisha

Chapter 2: Freedom?

Kagome's ears were still ringing from the shrieks of outrage Kikyou had been making when Sango and she returned to the okiya that night. Phrases like: "You LOST the other box to a hanyou!" "You IDIOT!" "I should have sold you to a whore house when I had the chance!" Kagome felt tears well up in her eyes but she wasn't going to give Kikyou the pleasure of seeing her cry. Sango sat in a corner of the tatami room with her head bowed in shame. Sango felt like she had failed both Kagome and Kikyou, Kaogme because she didn't stress to her enough how important it was to give the box to someone rich and Kikyou because now she had to listen to the insane woman's cries of rage.

Kagome was not ashamed of giving the other box to Inuyasha, she felt a strange connection with the hanyou and found him very attractive…he was rough around the edges but sweet and Kagome would never apologize for giving it to him. She wanted him to be her first not some wrinkly old general. But apparently he didn't want her as much as she thought he had, for he did not come to the bidding ceremony at the okiya. The general from the south came though and even though he had no opposition for Kagome's virginity he still paid over the beginning price but Kikyou still felt she could have gotten more. Either way Kagome was to lose her virginity to the wrinkly general, and she felt ready to throw up.

Kagome was walked to the man driven vehicle that was going to take her to the general's house, the man having already left to prepare a futon. Sango hugged Kagome one last time and whispered that everything would be okay in the most convincing voice she could. Kagome released Sango and the driver picked up the poles and began to trot down the streets towards the inn where the general was staying.

Kagome was reflecting on what she had done and no matter which way she looked at it she decided she would not have done a thing different in regards to Inuyasha. As a priestess she had a natural proclivity for understanding the destiny in everything she did and she felt giving Inuyasha that box was part of her destiny. Now she only had to pray that it was the kind of destiny she wanted.

Kagome was so deep in thought it took her more than a minute to realize that something was not right. There was a strange ethereal glow coming from far at the opposite side of the village and she soon realized it was the flickering light of a huge fire. She heard the screams of villagers and even some rabid growls. Kagome tried the yell to the driver to turn around but the driver didn't listen soon enough. At that moment a wolf barreled out of a side ally and attacked the driver violently and began to tear at the screaming man's flesh. Kagome screamed and just as the wolf noticed her another body came barreling out of the ally, this one was human like and clad in red.

"Oh no you don't!" a familiar man's voice screamed as her brought his claws down on the beast. "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" Inuyasha shouted and golden streaks issued from his claws as they came down on the wolf. When the wolf let loose a high pitched yipe and bounded off Inuyasha turned to Kagome who stood huddled in the carriage. Inuyasha smirked when he saw her. "Finally I found you…I know this sounds weird but it's good the wolves decided to attack the village when they did other wise we wouldn't have a distraction when we escaped." Inuyasha said walking to the shocked geisha and reaching out for her hand. Kagome looked at his blood covered claws and took it with out a care.

"Inuyasha? What do you mean escape? Why ARE the wolves attacking?" asked Kagome in deep confusion.

Inuyasha began to drag her along ally ways, dodging areas where the growling and shouting were loud. "I'm taking you from the okiya, you join my pack and you won't have to be a geisha anymore. The wolves are attacking because Koga is bitter about my threat for him to stay off my lands. They don't want to slaughter everyone just scare them all." Kagome was in a slight daze for a minute.

"You…youre taking me away? Why!" gasped Kagome halting in her tracks. Kagome looked to the stone covered ground and whispered softly. "What makes you think I DON'T want to be a geisha?" asked Kagome.

Inuyasha was silent for a minute and then he tilted her head with a claw under her chin. "You don't want to be a geisha do you?" he asked suddenly unsure about if he was doing the right thing. Kagome blinked up at him and shook her head no. Inuyasha smirked. "Then come on, this is our chance!" Inuyasha began to drag her again but Kagome tugged back.

"Wait! What about my friend Sango! What if she is killed by those wolves!" Kagome yelled to Inuyasha. Inuyasha stared at her and shrugged.

"What does it matter youre getting out aren't you?" he said. Kagome glared at him and he sighed in irritation. "Fine! Ill handle it just come with me for now!" Inuyasha insisted, Kagome followed hesitantly. As they ran down the streets many questions plagued Kagome's mind. She wondered if Inuyasha would be generous enough to answer.

Before Kagome got up the nerve to ask anything Inuyasha stopped at the edge of the village and looked around towards the village for something. Soon there was shouting and then the sound of foot steps coming their way. Inuyasha got into a fighting stance but he was able to relax when the familiar faces from the tea house showed up. Inuyasha looked around and established that all of his hanyou group was there and as was Miroku.

"Miroku. I need you to go into the village again and find the okiya on…what street is it wench?" growled Inuyasha.

Kagome glared at him and some of the hanyous snickered. "Nichiru."

"on Nichiru street and kidnap a geisha there named Sango, if she causes too much trouble tell her Kagome wants to see her again and explain that it's her chance to escape." Inuyasha instructed. At first Miroku was upset about going back into the fighting but at the thought of whisking away a geisha he darted back into the village. "The rest of you head back to the pack and make sure the wolves don't follow." The hanyous nodded and darted passed the head hanyou and the geisha.

"Inuyasha…why did you not come to bid for me?" asked Kagome, a little afraid of his answer but desperately wanting to know.

Inuyasha blushed, and even though it was passed midnight and the moon light was poor for human sight Kagome could see it. "I…uh…I didnt have the money but don't get me wrong I uh wanted to bid but I just knew I wouldn't win you…so I thought I could help by freeing you…I thought you might consider that my bid." His blush got steadily brighter as he talked and Kagome giggled. But then her giggle stopped after that last thing he said. 'He expects me to sleep with him because he freed me?...It sounds so wrong but…I DO owe him…' Kagome thought. Now she was even more confused.

Inuyasha suddenly scooped a surprised Kagome into a bridal style hold and began to jump after his pack members. Kagome held onto him by his neck and buried her face into it. Inuyasha's blush subsided a little and he held her gently as he jumped, being sure it was tight enough to keep her there.

"Inuyasha…why are you doing this for me?" asked Kagome.

"I thought I made that clear." He growled. "To pay you back for that damned box. Besides I know what you really are, bitch."

Kagome scowled at the name but was too curious about what he meant by that to say anything about the name. "What I am?"

"You're a priestess…and my pack needs one. Winter is coming around and my pack was wiped out by illness and infected wounds last winter. We will need healing powers and knowledge of herbs if we are going to be able to survive another winter." Said Inuyasha.

"But Im not that knowledgeable, my priestess training was cut short when I was sold to the okiya!" Kagome protested. Inuyasha snorted skeptically.

"Don't worry bitch, Kaede can teach you stuff and I can always buy some books for you at the market if you need guides for herbs. You have plenty of time before winter comes around." Inuyasha said confidently. Kagome sighed and decided to get a little sleep while Inuyasha carried her to his pack. Maybe this new life as a priestess wouldn't be so bad, as long as Kikyou didn't find her.

Kagome woke up to the sound of birds chirping and the sound of people outside talking and walking and laughing. She slowly sat up and found her self in a large futon so large in fact that she noticed a definite indent where someone had been sleeping beside her. Kagome got up and looked around. It looked to be a make shift hut, there was the futon, a fire pit, and circular walls that went around a pretty good sized room with a mat for a door. Kagome went to the door and opened it to find her self looking out into a camping ground type area, and there were hanyous as far she could see. The only humans were a few here and there who appeared to be related to some of the hanyous. Kagome walked out and immediately two young dog hanyous ran up and tugged at her elegant kimono.

"Miss priestess lady-mam!" a little girl implored as she tugged on her kimono. "Inu-san wants you to come with us to river when use wake up!" Kagome giggled at the little girl who looked up at her with large golden eyes. The Boy next to her was also half dog demon but apparently of a different tribe than Inuyasha because his hair was black and he had light blue eyes.

"Use a pretty lady!" the boy complimented with a slight blush. The girl pouted at not getting attention from the boy but quickly agreed with his sentiment as the three began to walk in the direction the children indicated.

"Why thank you! You two have to be the cutest little things Ive ever seen!" Kagome cooed as she took a clawed hand from each child and let them drag her along. The many young adults and elderly members of the pack stares at Kagome as she passed; most were curious but some of the older members had suspicious looks about them. Kagome smiled down at the eager pups who dragged her through the forest and towards the sound of running water. They halted though at the edge of the river and their ears twitch spastically atop their heads.

Kagome wondered what was going on then heard the low murmur of male voices beyond the tree line.

"So it is settled! We will meet at the Mioji River by sundown in three days. Clear the way of any pesky demons so I can transport the priestess safely. If there is any trouble, you know the signal. Now go!" Inuyasha's commanding voice drove the male hanyous across the river and into the opposite forest line, Kagome heard the sound of them jumping out of the shallow river and landing with thumps on the other side. As they sped off she heard Inuyasha sigh tiredly. The pups suddenly jerked her forward into the clearing.

Inuyasha stood in the river and looked around at Kagome. She wondered why he was having such a meeting in the middle of the river but let the thought pass by as quickly as it had come for the handsome hanyou was walking towards her.

"Good job you two." He said to the pups who grinned proudly up at their leader. Inuyasha crouched in front of them and patted their heads. "Now are you ready for a nice sweet reward?" asked Inuyasha with a grin. The pup's eyes brightened considerably and they nodded eagerly. "You have my permission to go to the storage hut, you'll find a jar of strawberry jam there, and you two may share that alright?" The pups laughed happily and ran off back to camp waving and shouting a joyful "Bye-Bye pretty priestess! Bye-Bye alpha-sir!" Kagome giggled at the young pup's antics and then turned to Inuyasha.

"You wanted to see me Inuyasha?" Kagome asked softly.

"Yes, your training as a priestess will have to be rushed, soon it will be too cold to do any more traveling and the pack will have to return to the hidden village for the winter. You will come with me to a village near the Mioji River, that is where the priestess Kaede lives. You will train under her for a week and then whether adept at your powers or not you will come back with me and we will travel to the hidden village to meet the pack." Inuyasha paused to allow questions.

"What is the hidden village?" asked Kagome.

Inuyasha expected this. "During winter time the game is scarce so there is no need to be nomads, we will return to that village in the mountains. It is protected by ancient magic and will allow only those in my pack in. It is built into a mountain and a safe place to be during harsh winters." Inuyasha explained.

"Then won't I not be able to get in?" Kagome questioned confused.

Inuyasha smirked and walked towards Kagome, she blinked and tried to back away but Inuyasha was soon right in front with her. "Once I initiate you as part of the pack that wont be a problem." He said simply. Kagome blushed at his intense stare. She was a little flustered so she quickly changed the subject.

"What happened to my friend Sango?" asked Kagome.

Inuyasha noticed the quick change and found her frustration amusing. "She is fine; she is safely sleeping off the stress of the night in Miroku's hut. She will not be coming with us to Kaede's though so you will have to say your good byes until we meet her at the village."

Kagome nodded in understanding. "Thank you for everything Inuyasha…" she said softly. Inuyasha felt his face heat up a little but quickly scoffed. "Feh!"

"It was nothin'. Now, you best go say goodbye to the other wench and then get your face and hair cleaned up, we have to get to Kaede's in three days, the warrior party I sent ahead will be much faster since they have no slow humans dragging them behind." Kagome glared at the human comment but wondered what was wrong with her hair. She went around Inuyasha to the river and saw that her make up was running all over the place and her hair was a frizzy mess, still barely being held up by her ornamental hair style as a geisha. Kagome screamed at her reflection and Inuyasha busted out laughing when she dunked her head into the river.

'No wonder everyone was looking at me funny! What in the world possessed those kids to say Im pretty!' she thought in horror. She opened her eyes under water and was amazed to find fish swimming by in the shallow river. Her eyes of water gleamed as she thought of all that lay ahead of her now. Her life as a geisha might have just ended…but what she didn't know was that those skills she learned then would be called upon again in the not so distant future. Kagome lifted her head out of the water and sucked in a deep breath, her face cleared of the white mask and other make up she turned to look at Inuyasha. His laughter died immediately when her natural beauty became so clear for him. His breath caught and there was a stunned silence as her blue-gray orbs stared into his golden-amber orbs.

A/N: O.O I was so impressed by the reviews! Keep them coming! I hope you like this chapter. Kagome's destiny is being unfolded before her and many obstacles will stand in her way, but she can always pull through it when the man she loves is so close. Yes I got the eye thing from Memoirs of a Geisha and a lot of my info on what geisha are like from there too. But my story is a far cry from that one and I hope you like it just the same! - bye for now! -- Danielle


	3. Kaede's Training

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Memoirs of a Geisha - (grumble wish I did though…pout)

Chapter 3: Kaede's Training

The travel to Kaede's was an interesting one to say the least. Inuyasha first surprised Kagome, after she said farewell to Sango, by offering her a ride on his back. She blushed prettily at the time and after loosening her kimono a little was able to climb on and wrap her legs around his torso. He held her so securely that she never feared she would fall. The feel of his claws barely grazing the smooth skin of her thighs made her shiver and she hugged him around the neck when he ran, for comfort, because so much was changing for the young geisha.

Kagome was surprised when he suggested they try to go the whole three days straight to Kaede's and try to beat the war party Inuyasha sent ahead. Kagome was worried Inuyasha would need to rest so she was able to coax him into breaks where they would eat whatever wild berries or game that was around. Kagome found being around Inuyasha to be not so bad aside from the rude remarks, he was actually kind of sweet on the inside and she found herself becoming more attracted to him by the day.

When they finally reached the village where Kaede lived and reached the hut they found the war party there lying about on the ground lazily. Kagome giggled at their bored expressions, and in unison animal ears on the human like creatures twitched and they all looked around at their leader and their new priestess with bored expressions.

"Hey you lazy bums, first of all did I not tell you fools to meet us as the Mioji River? Imagine my surprise when we get there and you all are not there! Secondly, did you tell Kaede that we need her to train Kagome?" before any of the hanyous could even open their mouths to respond an elderly woman with an eye patch shuffled out of the hut.

She looked at Inuyasha with a flat expression. "Hello Inuyasha, your men say you want me to train some girl before your pack migrates to the hidden village. Is that so?" inquired the woman. Kagome stared at the priestess curiously and decided that bowing would be the most appropriate way to show respect for her soon to be sensei. Kagome got on her knees and bowed respectively. Inuyasha watched her do this with a surprised look and Kaede smiled at the girl.

"Yeah, you have a week to train her ba-ba." Kagome and Kaede glared at Inuyasha in his disrespect but he didn't seem to care when he simply turned to his pack.

"Sorry Lord Inuyasha! We got to the river yesterday and ran across the demon, we chased it and it ended up so close to here that it would have been pointless to kill it and return to the river so we stayed here." Said a panther hanyou. Inuyasha snorted in response.

"Next time I give an order and it doesn't mean life or death if you follow it or not, you follow understood?" they all nodded melancholy and Inuyasha wielded on the human women. "Well are you going to train or not? You got to teach her in a week what takes years for most! Get to it!" Kagome sighed and followed Kaede into the hut.

"Sir, what do we do now?" asked a cat hanyou.

Inuyasha looked at them and then out towards the north east. He pointed in that direction. "Head that way for about five miles, you'll come to the second landmark for the journey to the hidden village, wait there and you'll find the rest of the pack in about a day. Help lead them to the village and I will meet you all there in a little over a week alright?" they nodded and ran off.

Inuyasha looked towards the hut where he heard the soft hum of voices inside and then sighed tiredly. 'What am I thinking about her for? Getting involved with her will only make things more complicated. I only freed her because I heard Koga was after her…I don't care about her or nothin'' this thought didn't soothe his ruffled fur. "Damnit! Why cant I stop thinking about the wench…it's not allowed I'm the pack leader." Inuyasha grumbled.

Inuyasha thought back to his talk with the pack elders………

"So it is settled. We will take in the priestess as a permanent member." Said an elderly dog hanyou. There was a round of consensus but a sudden grumpy raspy voice spoke up.

"You better not get too carried away with initiating her into the pack Inuyasha!" growled another elderly dog hanyou who had to be one of the oldest of them all. This was Genbu, a grumpy hanyou who absolutely hated humans, especially priestesses, though few knew why. The reason is because his mother had been a priestess way back when and she had killed his father after giving birth to him and then gave him away as an infant.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you can't be mating humans that's what! You are the leader of the pack and as such you should try to keep your blood as pure as possible! You can never trust a priestess anyways!" he groused.

Inuyasha got a little uncomfortable with where this conversation was heading and almost felt sick to his stomach when another elder spoke up.

"I agree with Genbu! Besides, priestesses bewitch demons into falling in love with them it is one of their traps! Never trust a priestess! You also promised my daughter, young man you better not turn her away for that whore of a priestess!" growled yet another dog hanyou by the name of Aiko. His daughter, Megumi, is a dog hanyou who follows Inuyasha around like they are mates. Inuyasha made no such promise, he didn't particularly like Megumi and his insult about Kagome immediately got his blood boiling.

Soon there was a small agreement among the elders that Inuyasha should not get involved with Kagome but it was far from a majority but when a call for who was against the judgment none of them spoke up, a silent majority seemed to not want to voice their opinions in front of two of the most awnry elders.

Inuyasha let it go and quickly changed the subject.

Now Inuyasha wished he could just say screw them all and try to pursue the geisha but he knew that if he snubbed the elders they might turn against him and convince the pack to do the same. The best thing to do for the time being was to just watch over the geisha.

It was now day two of training and Kagome only got about three hours of sleep before the next training session began. She was able to summon miko energy yesterday after a lot of failed attempts and now she had to learn to harness it. Kagome stood before Kaede expectantly, waiting for her to tell her what to do.

"Alright…if you can summon the will you can harness the energy without using a medium, but if you want to channel it into something that is how you will gain the better affect. Now…do you know how to handle any weapons?" asked Kaede. Kagome gave her the "are you crazy!" look. Kaede sighed. "Well the best way to use your powers to protect yourself is to channel it into a weapon but if you cant do that then we have a problem. You will just have to practice a weapon, I have a spare bow and a quiver of arrows that you can take with you but it will take far too long to teach you how to use it so we will have to skip that. You can learn to channel your energy into it after you leave me but I will teach you how to channel it into an object. Now pick something…"

Kagome didn't understand what her last statement meant then realized she wanted and object. She looked around and then got an idea. She reached behind her back to the back of her obi and pulled out two fans. They were made of black colored wood with strong red paper for the fan. She held them out with a smile and Kaede looked on curiously.

"Alright…concentrate hard on flowing the energy to your arms, concentrate it all in your hands and use the fans as extensions of your arms to channel the energy into them." Kagome concentrated but failed on the first couple of attempts then suddenly the fans began to get the aura she had, light lavender. Kagome gasped and when she snapped the fans open with skills of a geisha she was amazed when a reverberation of energy spread through the air.

Kaede held up an arm to block the energy from affecting her and was amazed that when Kagome gracefully moved the fans energy flowed out and almost acted like wind. The purified wind blew threw the room and Kaede was awed by the miko energy that was channeled. 'This girl has extraordinary talent.' She thought.

Kagome waved the fans and spun around gracefully causing a tornado of miko energy to form around her. Kagome gasped at the warm feeling going through her. She was brought out of her revelry by Kaede's clapping. Kagome snapped the fans shut and the energy immediately dissipated.

"That was amazing! You might be able to use that fan technique to create new ways of using miko energy! Now! Before we conclude your training you must have a great knowledge of herbs and know how to heal with your miko energy. Follow me and we will look for some herbs. When we come back I will give you the bow and arrows." Kaede left the stunned girl. Kagome looked down at the fans in wonder and then back up at where Kaede left. Kagome darted after her and waved as she passed Inuyasha. She suddenly wasn't so worried about failing to impress the hanyou.

Inuyasha watched the miko run off and a slight smile slipped onto his face but it quickly left when he smelt the mangy wolf approaching from the south west. 'If he tries to take Kagome…I'll kill him.' He thought decisively.

Kagome was learning a lot as she followed Kaede threw the woods. It as a peaceful fall day, the fall colors were beautifully painted into on the trees and soon they would melt away into the white powder of winter. Kagome sighed contently as she listened to the birds titter.

"Hmm…I don't believe there are any burdocks around here…" Kaede mused. "You will need to get a good idea of the different forms they can take…maybe you should run and get Inuyasha so he could sniff them out for us." Kaede suggested. Kagome blinked in surprise.

"Are you sure he wont mind being treated like a dog?" Kagome giggled. Kaede smiled.

"No, at least don't let him realize that is what he would be." Kagome nodded and ran back towards the village.

Kagome stumbled a little as she reached the tree line but quickly caught her footing and when she broke through the tree line and saw Koga facing off with an angry looking Inuyasha she got worried.

Inuyasha caught sight of Kagome and gasped. "Oi! Get out of here wench!" he ordered. Kagome looked on confused as Koga turned towards her with a smile.

"Hey! There's my new priestess!" Koga said friendly and trotted over to Kagome. Kagome looked at the wolf demon in confusion as he held her hands in his and looked at her intently.

"Um…" Kagome glanced at an angry hanyou then looked back at Koga. "Hello Koga-kun…how are you?" asked Kagome. Koga smiled wider and Inuyasha was growling loudly.

"I am fine my dear Kagome…I was just telling that dog over there that you are coming to my clan to become our priestess!" Kagome gasped and took her hands back.

"What! You were just going to give me away were you!" Kagome shouted at the hanyou. Inuyasha sputtered indignantly for a minute then bounded over to stand between an irate miko and wolf.

"Hell no I wasn't giving you away! He's trying to TAKE you!" Inuyasha growled. Kagome sighed in exhaustion, so much excitement and all she wanted was for Inuyasha to sniff out some dumb herb.

"Koga-kun!" Kagome said with forced sweetness, though Inuyasha took it for the real thing and was stunned silent. "I'm a little busy right now but if you want to talk about me becoming your priestess why don't I meet you down in the Southern lands in a week. You name the place!" Kagome said eagerly.

Koga got a cocky grin and gave Inuyasha a snide smirk. "How about we meet at Juro village?" Kagome nodded her consent and the wolf demon was off in a whirlwind. Inuyasha stood there stunned and then round on Kagome in rage.

"How could you! You promised to be MY— I mean OUR priestess!" Inuyasha shouted his words laced with hurt. Kagome looked up at him nonchalantly.

"I'm not going to actually meet him Inuyasha, take a chill pill. I only wanted him to leave so I could tell you something!" Kagome finished cheerfully. Inuyasha blushed slightly and felt his stomach do a flip or two wondering what she was going to tell him. 'Is she going to tell me she has feelings for me?' he wondered guardedly yet hopefully.

"What is it?" he asked gruffly, purposefully leaving off an insulting name.

"Can you help me and Kaede find this herb in the woods?" asked Kagome innocently. Inuyasha fell over anime style and Kagome looked on in confusion.

A/N: Im SO glad this story is becoming so popular. My writers block with the phobia series was frustrating me a little. Ive been getting reviews for those stories by the way and I am going to tell everyone out there that I am still striving to finish all my fics! I will conclude Thanatophobia over the summer when I don't have school work I promise! Keep reviewing my fics and Ill keep writing! I will also try to work on Host Club and if anyone is still interested in my other series Feudal Web you can email me on if you are interested in that being completed! - Bye now! Danielle


	4. The Hidden Village

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Memoirs of a Geisha - (grumble wish I did though…pout)

Chapter 4: The Hidden Village

"Inuyasha!" Kagome whined into the hanyou's doggy ears. The furry appendages twitched slightly in irritation. "Please! Let me wash my kimono and take a bath! You said we are almost there what's an hour's break going to do?" pouted Kagome. Inuyasha held her tighter on his back and frowned.

"I said no wench!" Inuyasha growled back, his eyes shifted to the setting sun nervously. "We need to get to the village before sundown, it's very important that we do that first and foremost."

Kagome sighed and absently twirled a silver lock of his hair around a slender finger. "But why is it so important? I need to take a bath Inuyasha, I don't want the pack thinking Im dirty or anything." Inuyasha felt a frown tug at his lips and slowed his pace a little before finally coming to a stop.

Kagome slid off the hanyous back and after giving a brief hug of appreciation to him from behind he let the girl run off to where the sound of a river could be heard. Inuyasha stood there for a little while staring at the setting sun. He was suddenly struck with worry about how the pack would treat the young geisha turned priestess. He recalled Miroku complaining before he left for Kaede's that the pack was treating Sango like trash. The pack was highly influenced by the elders and when word got around that the two new humans were geisha the pack was starting to act cruel to Sango. They would try to take advantage of her, gave her dirty looks, gossiped, nothing seriously damaging and it was quick and easy for Miroku to get the pack to stop but now Inuyasha worried this would all happen to Kagome. 'Hopefully they will treat her good because she will be with me.' He thought.

Kagome had slipped out of all of the parts to her elegant kimono and was washing it in the water of the river as she stood naked from the hips down in the river. She shivered as a cold wind blew through but continued with washing. When she found her work to be sufficient she set the kimono over a tree limb to dry and then went back to the river to wash up.

Kagome washed herself thoroughly and when done; decided to soak a little while her kimono dried. She lazily opened an eye towards the horizon and saw that the sun had almost completely set. She got out of the water and put on the kimono, though it wasn't as damp as before it was extremely cold from the wind. She shivered in it as she walked back to the road they were traveling on. The sun had set and as Kagome turned out onto the path of the road she was shocked to find a human Inuyasha sitting under a tree looking agitated.

"Inuyasha?" she called tentatively. He looked up at her and blushed at the sight of her, the kimono clung to her like a second skin and the chill air had affected her supple breasts in a most…curious way. Inuyasha groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to will the image away but failed miserably.

"Yeah it's me, you took long enough wench! Now we wont reach the village by midnight." Inuyasha groused. Kagome blinked owlishly at him for a minute then when he came to stand right in front of her expectantly she grabbed hold of one human ear and yanked on it. "Ow! What the hell!" Inuyasha growled pathetically, since he no longer was half demon. Kagome gasped and retracted her hand.

"Wow…they're real." She said as if he didn't already know. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Feh! Of course they are! This happens to be my human night alright?" he snapped impatiently but when Kagome continued to stare blankly he explained. "One night a month a half demon's demon blood recedes and they become human, there is a similar night for their demon blood to take control but it doesn't fully take control just make it difficult to stay in my hanyou form. Understand?" he finished. Kagome nodded and then looked up at the sky to see no moon, a new moon. Kagome smiled up at Inuyasha.

"Well! Let's get going then!" she began to walk down the road towards the hidden village. Inuyasha followed lazily and watched the petite woman ahead of him protectively. He noticed that she shivered when a breeze blew through. He was reaching to remove his haori for her but he only let his eyes off her for a second and suddenly they were attacked.

Kagome screamed as a man jumped out of the trees and grabbed her. She struggled fiercely but to no avail. He had her pinned to a tree and just as Inuyasha was running forward to help he was attacked from behind. The hilt of a dagger was rammed into the back of his neck and the hanyou turned human toppled over. The man who jumped him began to wail on him violently.

Kagome's kimono was being ripped off by the burly man holding her against the tree and she continued to scream. "Inuyasha! Inuyasha!" Inuyasha's attacker ceased for a minute to watch the show that his friend was about to put on with the priestess. Inuyasha's weak human body trembled on the ground as he tried to get up.

"Damnit..." Inuyasha growled in frustration. Kagome was crying now as the man got to her flesh and was touching her chest roughly with large hairy hands. The man laughed drunkenly while his fried cheered him on. Kagome tried to fight back or even summon her miko energy but she was so under trained and so emotionally distraught that she could do nothing as the man took advantage of her.

"Inuyasha! INUYASHA! HELP ME!" She cried out pleadingly, she felt the dirty hands of the bulky man touching her between her legs and she shuddered with disgust. The man was so entranced with his actions on the girl that he didn't acknowledge the rustling movements or the pained gasp from his friend. Suddenly as he moved his hands to untie his pants a human arm swooped across his torso from behind and a blade was swiftly embedded on the left side of his throat and jerked across it swiftly. The disgusting man gave a surprised and pained gasp as blood spurted from his slit throat. Kagome was lightly sprayed by it and she stared with blank eyes as the man fell over, revealing Inuyasha.

Human Inuyasha stood there with the bloody knife he had wrestled from his attacker clutched in his right hand and panting slightly from the physical strain of fighting the other guy. The other guy was on the ground bleeding to death from a stab wound. The man who was molesting Kagome was most certainly dead, lying between Kagome and Inuyasha. Inuyasha's face was bruised from the beating he got from the other guy and he was bleeding a little on his face, from a cut above his brow, and on his knuckles and his knees.

Inuyasha's violet eyes were trained on Kagome. She slowly slid down the bark of the tree, staring intently at the dead man at her feet. She was completely bare to Inuyasha. Her kimono torn wide open, blood splattered her face and chest. Her blue-gray eyes stared at the man and tears slowly built again. He watched as she reached a hand out towards the man, as if to see if he would respond, but he wouldn't, he was dead.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha whispered. He didn't know why he was whispering, it just seemed appropriate. Kagome seemed to jerk out of her trance and looked up at Inuyasha sharply. Inuyasha tried hard not to stare at her exposed body. "Get up…you need to get cleaned up so we can go." He whispered again.

"Inuyasha…" he looked at her expectantly. "You…killed him." She whispered. Inuyasha didn't know how to react to this. She looked so confused and shocked.

"He was going to rape you." He said simply. He watched her as she stared at the dead man; the other man was obviously dead now since he had grown silent. He could not determine her emotions but when tears rolled down her face he determined that she was feeling compassion for the sleaze ball that was going to hurt her and the thought that she might hate him for killing one of her kind struck him. He turned around so he wouldn't see any hate she might have for him. He was shocked when her sobbing broke out and she got up from the tree to hug him from behind. "Wha…?"

"Thank you! Thank you so much Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted into his back as she cried. Inuyasha rested his claws over the slender hands the clutched the front of his haori. "Inuyasha…" she whispered. "I will repay you for this I swear!" she proclaimed determinedly. Inuyasha snorted.

"Feh! Don't bother, that is what members in a pack do for each other…" He said with a blush. "Now! Go get cleaned up!" Kagome nodded and disappeared into the woods towards the river again. Inuyasha allowed her to get only a little ahead of him and then followed her. He heard her get into the river and casually leaned against a tree, facing away from the river of course. He took off his haori, he inspected the back to find only a little blood from when Kagome hugged him, other than that it was relatively clean. 'That bastard ripped up her kimono, she'll have to wear this for now.' He thought. 'I'll need to initiate her into the pack as well…probably should do that before we go any further.' Inuyasha heard Kagome's frustrated sigh.

"My kimono is unfixable…unless of course you carry around needle and thread?" Kagome added flatly. Inuyasha smirked and held out the haori so she could see it.

"Wear this then, it's warmer than that kimono anyway, seeing as it was wet and all." Kagome got out of the river and took the haori. She blushed lightly.

"Thank you again…" he heard the rustling of clothes and when the sound stopped he was surprised when she came around the tree to face him. She was still wet from washing up after their ordeal and was now wearing his haori in an almost makeshift dress style. He saw that with the way she maneuvered the sleeves she now looked like she was wearing a VERY short red short sleeved dress. Kagome twirled for him playfully and Inuyasha made a show of eyeing her, causing Kagome to giggle.

"That'll do. Now, before we go on I think it would be a good idea to initiate you into the pack. Are you squeamish when it comes to blood?" asked Inuyasha off the bat. Kagome looked a little hesitant to answer this question, wondering what blood had to do with anything. In response she reached up and wiped away the trail of blood coming from the cut above his brow.

"No. Why?" asked Kagome. Inuyasha nodded and sat down against the tree.

"Alright. Promise you'll do everything I say okay? This is all for the initiation." Inuyasha commanded obedience serenely. Kagome nodded hesitantly. His next words almost made her fall over in shock. "Straddle me." He said bluntly. Kagome's face went cherry red. Inuyasha smirked at her shyness and mockingly patted his thighs, he was sitting Indian style. Kagome gulped and straddled his torso, causing her to sit on his thighs, and to be pressed against his crotch. Inuyasha grunted slightly. He held up a clean knife for Kagome to see. "Stole this from the guy that jumped me, he had several knives on him. Bastard." He grumbled the last part grumpily. Kagome nodded and waited for him to continue.

"Okay." Inuyasha said steadily and Kagome was shocked when he forced the knife into her hand. "I want you to cut me." He said calmly. Kagome gasped and immediately shook her head.

"N-No! You do it!" Kagome insisted trying to push the knife into his hands.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Don't worry it wont hurt me. You have to be the one to do it, the binding requires you drink the blood that I willing allow you to spill. Now cut me!" Inuyasha repeated impatiently. Kagome looked at the knife and then at the arm whose sleeve he had rolled up.

"B-But would this spell even work when youre human?" Kagome asked.

"Usually only hanyous can even SEE the hidden village, so in order to allow you to see it I need to bind you to me. It doesn't matter that Im human now, I can still see it because the blood flowing through me at all times is hanyou, even if one type of my blood is dominating my features. Usually humans can only be brought into the village if they are mated to a hanyou there, mating would automatically give you the ability to see it but the next best thing is this ritual, it will put a protective mark on you so that I am bound to protect you with my life. The protective mark is the closest thing to being mated without being mated; someone in the pack has no doubt vowed to protect your friend Sango so she can stay in the village, now it is your turn."

Kagome was still hesitant; she didn't want to cut Inuyasha, no matter what he said it would hurt if she has to draw enough blood to drink it. Kagome was about to just refuse to do it when Inuyasha suddenly reached out grabbed the knife by the blade, Kagome was so shocked by this that she jerked her hand away, bringing the blade with it to cause his palm to be sliced. Kagome gasped and dropped the knife to the side to inspect the wound. Inuyasha watched her study the cut with mild fascination, she looked so concerned. 'How can she care so much? Why does it not bother her that I'm a hanyou?' Inuyasha shook those thoughts away and brought his bleeding hand up to her face.

"Drink as much as you can." He instructed. Kagome slowly licked at the wound and was amazed that she didn't throw up the coppery substance like she imagined she would have, it actually wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, it was almost sweet. Inuyasha watched her lick at his wound and felt heat surge through him. 'Gods…I feel so hot all of a sudden. And her little pink tongue licking at me like that…woah! Focus!' Inuyasha groaned and violently shook his head. Kagome had licked the wound so much now that it was no longer bleeding profusely and she was now also licking at his flesh, causing shivers to run up human Inuyasha's back.

"Is that good?" asked Kagome. Inuyasha nodded, he then leaned over her, making sure she would not get away by grabbing her waist. Kagome watched as he sniffed at her neck. He was sniffing around curiously and she wondered what he was doing.

Inuyasha nuzzled her neck and then moved up her neck to her ear, he nuzzled his nose behind it, causing Kagome to squirm in his grasp because of the sensitive skin he was touching. Inuyasha then gave a strong lick to her skin behind the ear and unknown to Kagome a crimson crescent moon appeared there. It burned bright for a minute and then settled to look like just a regular mark.

"It's done. You will be able to see the village." Inuyasha whispered in her ear. Kagome shivered at the breath blowing in her ear and nodded slowly. When Inuyasha just held her to him for awhile she wondered if they should get back to traveling.

"Should we go now?" asked Kagome. Inuyasha nodded and allowed her to get off of him. They quickly continued their journey, not speaking of anything that happened and simply basking in the comfortable silence. Kagome was surprised when after about an hour's walking Inuyasha reached behind and grabbed her hand. They stopped and Inuyasha turned to face her.

"You are going to love this…" he said with a warm smile. Kagome blushed and thought to herself. 'Love the hand holding? Yes I do. What's your point?' Kagome watched him take her other hand and then walk backwards through a path in some brush, he led her like this with a cocky grin on his handsome face. Kagome blinked at him confused and then was shocked so terribly she forgot to breath when they broke through the foliage and came upon a magnificent sight.

The hidden village was enormous! The night's atmosphere added an ethereal misty glow to the giant almost city like village of hanyous. There was a giant steep cliff, with bluish rock. There were built in paths winding around the cliff and going all the way around so it was impossible to tell if it was one long road built into the mountain of just rings. There was giant tree at the top of the mountain, it was so big it was mind boggling and seemed to be on some sort of island like area at the top because a little ways on each side of it waterfalls poured down. The sparkling mist of the water falls were lit by the lanterns in front of the many many caves built into the mountain. The top of the "mountain" seemed to have a lot of vegetation because beautiful vines grew down the mountain from the top, sporting lovely flowers of all colors. There were strange moving lights everywhere, that had to be fireflies. There was a little movement here and there but appeared that most of the village was asleep. Kagome could also spot little huts lining the base of the "mountain" they appeared to be closed shops, their owners obviously asleep for the night.

Just in front of the hanyou and priestess was part of a giant spell engraved in stone set into the ground, it wound around the entire "mountain" and was the concealment spell. When the hanyou and priestess crossed it but the markings and the protection mark glowed. Kagome was in stunned awe. She saw that the water falls fell onto a large area of the road that seemed to be cut out to be artificial lakes but with all of that water flowing in so quickly there was no way the little pond sized water bodies would not over flow onto the market place at the bottom of the "mountain."

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha in amazement. "This place…it's…" Inuyasha chuckled in amusement.

"I'm glad you like it. This will be your home now. It's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen isn't it?" Inuyasha took one of her hands and led her toward the caves. "It is basically a giant plateau with caves carved into it. There are many passage ways inside the caves and even more spells engrained into the place. You will love living in the caves that is where all the upper members of the pack live.

Those not part of the warrior groups live in huts on the flat plane on top of the plateau. It is like a forest up there and that tree you see sustains all the spells. The water as you might be wondering comes from a hot spring that is in the center of the village on top of the plateau, the water cools as it moves in the river systems and is used for irrigation on the other side of the plateau as well as plumbing and drinking water, designated in different spots of course would want to drink from the plumbing water! You see! That river on the right is the plumbing water for this entire half of the plateau and the right is for drinking all along this side, as well. You will find even more waterfalls on the other side." As Inuyasha talked Kagome listened intently and stared around at the beauty of the place.

'Wow…this place is so beautiful…but it's not the most beautiful thing I've ever seen…' she thought pensively and glanced at Inuyasha shyly. "Inuyasha…can you give me a tour some other time? I'm a little tired." To prove her point she yawned widely. Inuyasha looked at her and nodded in approval.

"Good idea! Come on! My cave is towards the center of the plateau just ahead! Get on my back and we can jump up." Kagome climbed onto his back tiredly, not minding the shortness of the haori she wore. They jumped up over the market shops to the first ring of road around the plateau then up another, then another, then ANOTHER. Finally they got to the largest cave opening in the plateau, it was twice as large as the others and right in between the two artificial ponds that were just above the cave which means Inuyasha's cave got the freshest water of all. They paused outside the cave entrance.

Kagome saw similar unreadable markings like the ones surrounding the village etched into the stone around the entrance. She cocked her head to the side curiously and Inuyasha smirked at her cute behavior.

"Those marks cause the inside of the caves to look pitch black at all times when looked into from the outside, this preserves privacy it also blocks all sound from inside but you can tell if there is sound inside or even if there is any occupant inside when the markings on the outside glow." Inuyasha took her small hand and brought here through the hazy blackness that seemed to only cover an inch of the cave. When inside it was found to be quite large and roomy with lanterns lighting it up, there were furs covering the floor like carpet, a fire pit for cooking and along the walls there was a track system for water that had symbols on the wooden troths that seemed to prevent the annoying sound of water running when people sleep in the cave. There was also two large basins; one on the left for plumbing that ran water into another room that must have been a makeshift bathroom and the other basin on the right was like a sink type of area and ran water from there to another cave for those occupants to use the drinking water. There were also two other openings in the large lounging area/kitchen.

Inuyasha led Kagome through another doorway that had marking for privacy and found it to be just slightly smaller than the lounge and had a huge pile of furs in the center. Kagome watched Inuyasha pull off his under shirt and walk to the furs. He looked over at Kagome expectantly. "A-Am Am I sleeping w-with you?" asked Kagome. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Of course! Now Come on! You said you were tired." Kagome blushed even deeper and nodded quickly she scuttled over and lied down on the piles of fur and after pulling a fur over here as a blanket got comfortable. The furs were incredibly soft and provided plenty of warmth. Inuyasha reached over and grabbed Kagome. He pulled the stunned geisha into his arms and quickly went to sleep. Kagome blushed and decided it would do no harm to sleep like this and quickly drifted off as well.

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to put up! Ill try to be more frequent with updates but school keeps getting harder as exams close in! Give me a week or two with school and then my fanfics can be my top priority again! . Please review!


	5. Trying to Earn Acceptance

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Memoirs of a Geisha - (grumble wish I did though…pout)

Chapter 5: Trying to Earn Acceptance

Kagome woke up the next morning feeling refreshed, Inuyasha allowed her to sleep in a little and when she got up she found he had placed a crimson colored kimono on the fur she was using as a blanket. The kimono was stunning with Chinese characters woven into it and made of fine silk. The obi was black like the Chinese characters and he even included brand new zori sandals and black socks. Kagome stared at it in awe for a little until she noticed the note laying near it.

-Kagome

Here's a kimono to wear. No need to thank me…just give back my haori. Here is a list of things I need you to get at the market, just go down the cliff and tell the shop keepers you are doing my shopping. I'll be training some warriors on the opposite side of the plateau if you need me.

-Inuyasha

PS- for staying in my cave you better wash my haori and have dinner ready by sunset.

Kagome's eye twitched a little at his audacity but after careful consideration she came to the conclusion that she DID owe Inuyasha for everything he'd done for her. Kagome put on the kimono and stuffed the letter and list into her obi. Kagome left the cave and began to walk around the road built into the side of the plateau, she came to a sturdy ladder and climbed down with as much modesty as she could while wearing a kimono. Kagome finally got down and didn't realize how much trouble she would have on her first day in the village.

Kagome walked through the market street that had shops all on the right, because she was walking clockwise around the plateau. She noticed that those she passed and sometimes even shop owners would stare and whisper about her as she walked by innocently. Kagome at first wondered if it was really her they were talking about but when she heard the words "geisha" and "priestess" she was sure they were talking about her. One dog hanyou that looked to be about Inuyasha's age was conversing with a cat hanyou who owned a jewelry stand, Kagome watched as she pointed at her and said something to the cat hanyou the word "whore" was definitely distinguishable. Kagome blushed, she couldn't bring herself to deny their claims, she DID sleep in the same bed with Inuyasha…and they weren't mates…she wasn't even sure if they were FRIENDS!

Kagome screwed her eyes shut when the whispers seemed to overwhelm her. She remembered the list and brought it out quickly to distract her. She glanced at it and spotted the first place she needed to go. The stand with kimonos and other cloths, she walked up to the owner who was a lizard hanyou by the looks of it. It was a middle aged woman who already seemed to have heard the rumors about Kagome. She glared at Kagome accusingly.

"Um…Inuyasha sent me to—."

"I don't care if BUDDHA sent you! You better have money or something to trade with if you want a kimono." The lady glared at Kagome harder. Kagome glanced around and saw that this wasn't exactly a normal market, at least not like the ones in her old village. There were shop keepers just giving away their products because in a close knit village like this there wasn't much of a reason to believe the other would not pay them back in some shape or form.

"Actually…I need a wardrobe and Inuyasha sent me, I'm sure he will compensate—."

"No! If the kimonos are for YOU then YOU are going to pay for them!" the stubborn woman asserted. Kagome blinked at her with a frown on her face. "And a wardrobe! Ha! You will need to pay me back a great deal if you want around-abouts-7 or 8 full sets of kimonos."

Kagome thought this over for a minute. 'She obviously doesn't think I'll go to the trouble of paying her and thinks I'll run to Inuyasha like a baby…or his whore.' She thought incredulously. "Okay…I don't have any thing to trade with soo…what do you want?" asked Kagome.

The woman was surprised for a minute and then got a wicked smirk. "How about you work off your debt in this shop…I will say it will take you a day for each kimono you buy so you work for me for a week and I'll give you 7 kimono." The woman propositioned. Kagome thought about it.

"Alright! It's a deal but I must leave by evening so how about only the mornings?" Kagome bartered. The woman was again surprised then smirked.

"It's a deal!" they shook hands and Kagome was suddenly dragged into the shop. She was pushed roughly into table stacked with beautiful silk kimonos. "Grab that broom and sweep up a little! My rugs look as filthy as you! Then organize the kimonos by shades of color."

Sango ran through the market place. She was told by Miroku that Kagome was somewhere in the village and she wanted desperately to be reunited with her best friend.

"Kagome!" Sango shouted as she passed by the shops. Some looked on curiously and some looked irritated because of the shouting. "Kagome!" she called again.

It has been several hours and as it passed about 2 pm Kagome felt it was time to ask the woman if she could leave. The woman nodded and let her choose a kimono. Kagome picked a black kimono with a white obi, it was really lovely with silver crescent moons in the design. Kagome trudged tiredly out of the shop just as Sango was running by.

Sango screeched to a halt and hugged Kagome happily. "Kaogme! I missed you so much! How did training go?" asked Sango.

Kagome glanced at the sky to view the sun's placement then lightly pushed Sango away. "I'll tell you as we walk. I have to get some food for dinner and get back to the cave to start making it." Kagome said as she walked along the market street. Sango caught up to her and Kagome observed her well adjusted friend. "So you like it here Sango?" asked Kagome unsurely.

Sango beamed. "Yes! Once they warm up to you they can be really nice!" Sango asserted. Kagome's sore arms begged to differ but she supplied an empathetic smile none the less. "So how are you? Tell me everything about the training!" Sango insisted. As the reunited friends walked and laughed some hanyous glanced at them nervously and some of the few humans and full demons watched on curiously. The sight of the two former geisha intrigued and intimidated them a lot. Some thought them to be whores and some thought they believed they were better than the hanyous but both were wrong in their assumptions.

"So you are staying in Inuyasha's cave?" Sango asked with a frown. Kagome nodded in affirmation. "No wonder those rumors are going around. You need to move out Kagome before this ruins you! Everyone is calling you a slut. You need to move out. I know! You can stay with me in my cave!" She suggested with a grin. Kagome looked unsure.

"I'll ask Inuyasha about it…so you have your own cave now? That's cool!" Kagome said with a grin.

"Kagome…don't let Inuyasha run your life. He may have saved you from the okiya but if you ruin things in the beginning here then things will get far worse than when we lived under Kikyou. When I was living with Miroku everyone in the village treated me like crap because he was a priest and pretty high up in the pack! I wasn't even sleeping in the same room in his cave as him but I was still called a whore!" Sango said in outrage. Kagome laughed nervously. With Sango with her she didn't have trouble getting food, probably because Sango would most definitely tell Miroku if the pack was abusing her so they wouldn't dare do so around her best friend. Kagome was thankful because she could tell the ladies at the food stands wanted to hurt her for just existing.

Kagome departed from Sango and went back to Inuyasha's cave. When she got there the sun was setting so she quickly prepared dinner. But just as she found a pot to cook soup in the other room she hadn't went into last night Inuyasha got home. He came in and removed his inner kimono lazily. He stretched tiredly and looked at Kagome with a frown.

"No dinner yet? What? Did you sleep in till noon?" Inuyasha said sarcastically. He kicked some furs to lie beside the fire pit and plopped down on them. Kagome winced but after shooting the hanyou a glare she went back to cooking dinner. As she prepared the soup and fish Inuyasha watched her with a thoughtful look.

"Thank you for the kimono." Kagome said softly as she prepared dinner. Inuyasha stared at her intensely.

"Feh! I couldn't have you going down to the market dressed in only my haori there would be talk of nothing else for months." Inuyasha paused. "Speaking of gossip…" Kagome stiffened noticeably. "You didn't happen to hear of any rumors in the village did you?" asked Inuyasha, even thought he could already tell the truth from her reaction to the word "gossip." Yes, he had heard the rumors as he came home from the training, and he WAS NOT pleased. Inuyasha sighed deeply. 'Was I wrong to bring her here? Is this going to make her miserable?...I don't want her to leave…but I cant FORCE her to stay with me…' "Kagome…they don't know what they are talking about, just ignore them—."

Kagome laughed light heartedly. "Don't worry Inuyasha! They don't bother me! All I have to do is earn their respect by being a good priestess right? Then there wont be problems like this!" Kagome said with confidence. Inuyasha blinked at her stunned. He got a small smirk on his face, he looked content with her answer and closed his eyes as he waited for dinner. "Oh…Inuyasha? Can I move into Sango's cave for now?" asked Kagome hopefully. Inuyasha's eyes snapped open and his face was pulled into a glare.

"What! No way! You are staying here so I can keep an eye on you!" Inuyasha growled authoritatively. Kagome glared at him defiantly.

"I'm NOT a child Inuyasha! I can take care of myself!" Kagome shouted as she stood from her sitting position to stand over the hanyou.

Inuyasha hopped to his feet within a second. "Maybe if you WERE a child I wouldn't have to worry about those pervs touching you!" Inuyasha shouted his face going a little red. Kagome suddenly looked really confused.

"Pervs? What pervs! Everyone in the village is disgusted by me!" Kagome retorted.

"Feh! Maybe most of everyone in the market today but the unmated hormone driven bastards at training today wouldn't stop talking about you! They remember you from the day I took you from the okiya and they ALL want you!" Kagome stared stunned at him. "And you wanna know what else? IT PISSES ME OFF!" Inuyasha exploded. Kagome fell over at the mere volume of his voice. Inuyasha was now crimson in the face and panting slightly. Kagome stared up at him in shock; she didn't know what to say to this.

Inuyasha heaved a heavy sigh so as to get his emotions under some control. He crouched down in front of the stunned priestess. "Now you get it? You can't go to some other cave because one of those idiots might try to force himself on you or somethin'."

"Inuyasha…" Kagome's face softened a little. "You wont have to worry about that! Sango will be there so if something were to attack us you could hear us and—."

"Did you forget the sound spells on the doors? I wouldn't be able to hear you. Sides, it's different if Sango lives alone at least SHE can protect herself. You are useless in that department." Inuyasha grumbled.

This rustled Kagome's feathers a lot. "Hey! Sango cant defend herself any better than me! In fact I'M the one with special powers I have a better chance of protecting myself!" Kagome insisted. Inuyasha snorted incredulously.

"Powers you cant control yet! Sango can too protect herself now, didn't she tell you? She became part of a special warrior group in the pack the first day she got here, she's been training since you left for your training and she is pretty good. Turns out she came from the village of demon exterminators so she learned combat basics before she was stolen and forced to work in the okiya." Kagome took all this in slowly. She stared down at the fire over Inuyasha's shoulder with a pensive look. 'Everyone fits in so well in the pack…I don't fit in…The only one that TRULY accepts me is Inuyasha…he wouldn't withhold information like what Sango did. I wonder why she didn't tell me she was so involved in the pack…I…hate this. Every things has turned out so wrong so far. The only good thing that's happened to me is…Inuyasha.' Kagome thought his name as she looked at the hanyou who was watching her with a guarded yet concerned look. Kagome smiled at him brightly.

Kagome suddenly jumped at Inuyasha and hugged him around the torso. Inuyasha's eyes bugged a little but he quickly adjusted to this new level of intimacy that seemed to keep occurring. He returned the hug with a slight smile, which quickly disappeared when he smelled her tears. "Inuyasha…I'm sorry for even suggesting it! I owe you so much and…I want to live here with you and work off all the debts I owe you." Kagome said resolutely. Inuyasha was a little disappointed that that was the only reason she wanted to stay but took her acceptance of his wishes as a good sign.

"Feh! Finish dinner then you can tell me why you didn't get all your shopping done." Inuyasha said gruffly. Kagome pulled away and after getting the soup into two bowls that Inuyasha got from the second room that came off the living room, the pantry. Kagome had some time to think of an excuse for her not getting everything on the list.

"I…um…you know how stupid I can be!" Kagome laughed nervously, she was a terrible liar. "I just plum forgot to get everything, Sango came while I was buying the kimono so I just walked off without buying more! Sorry!" Kagome waited for him to respond now. He scrutinized her closely. He knew she was lying but didn't know why she would need to.

"Alright then." He decided to wait until she wanted to tell the truth. "Tomorrow you can go shopping for more clothes or just work on your own training. There is only one other priestess here but she is a little eccentric so I don't want you training under her unless it is really necessary. If you want a bath before bed I can show you where the hot springs are." Inuyasha said offhand.

Kagome was more curious about this other priestess at the moment. "There is another priestess here?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah but she is a little off her rocker. She also goofs up some of her spells and magic crap so we don't have her do much around here. She's a dragon hanyou named Trinity. She lives in a cave around the other side of the plateau so don't worry about running into her." Kagome wasn't worried in fact, she wanted to meet this woman.

"Can you take me to the hot springs now?" Kagome asked eagerly, setting down her empty bowl. Inuyasha smirked and gave a nod. He got up and showed her the secret passage from his cave to the hot springs.

A/N: Yo Yo Yo! What up hommie slice?...--; Ill stop now Im a little nuts at the moments so don't mind me! so hope you like! Please review!


	6. A Peaceful Life is all I Want

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Memoirs of a Geisha - (grumble wish I did though…pout)

Chapter 6: A Peaceful Life is all I Want

Kagome sighed happily as she began to come back to the real world from a very pleasant dream. It involved a certain hanyou that we all know. She had grown so much closer to him in the last two weeks she'd been living in the village. They were almost like husband and wife, except there has been no confession of feelings yet.

Kagome's eyes drifted open and she felt the familiar warmth of her "roomy." Kagome looked over her shoulder at Inuyasha wearing only his hakamas (like he always did when he went to bed) and snoring softly. Kagome had grown used to the typical routine in the village. They would wake up; usually Inuyasha would be holding her rather intimately. She would force the sleeping hanyou to release her so that she could make breakfast and then once they finished talking about what they were to do that day Kagome would walk Inuyasha to his "job" which was usually the training grounds on the opposite side of the plateau.

Then Kagome would either go "shopping" which usually entailed her going around doing manual labor for the shop keepers, or she would play with the village children. All of the children were hanyous and they loved Kagome, at first only because she was the only adult that would play with them and then later they just grew to love her personality and games.

Kagome struggled to get out of the strong hanyou's arms and then when she was finally able to slip away she quietly left the bed room and went into the living room so that she could enter the other room which was like a pantry. It had all of the equipment for cooking as well as all the dry foods that didn't need to be refrigerated, and then THOSE foods were stored in a little tiny cave that was built into the corner of the pantry, most caves in the village had one it had a spell that kept the contents of the cave really cold. Kagome removed some eggs and sliced meat from the tiny hovel and went about making breakfast as per usual.

As the food was finishing she watched Inuyasha come in, she never knew when he would come out because it was impossible to hear sounds in the bedroom with the spells but Inuyasha learned quickly that it was not a good idea to scare Kagome when she was handling hot objects. Inuyasha stretched agilely. And then looked at the food Kagome held hungrily. Kagome giggled and gave him a plate with most of the food. She then left her breakfast so she could get ready for the day. She wore Inuyasha's haori as a night shirt and now she got dressed in one of the many kimonos she got from that lizard demon's shop.

Kagome came out in a light blue cloth kimono (no fancy silk today) she knew she would have to work her tail off today to get some of the things she needed from the market. Inuyasha looked up when she entered and handed her the plate of food while she handed him his haori. He got up picked up the discarded under kimono that he always dropped by the doorway when he came home and then put on the haori.

Kagome ate quickly then indicated the other pile of furs, she had her own permanent pile that she sat on by the fire now, and she wanted Inuyasha to sit with her. The hanyou was used to their routine and plopped down on the soft furs.

"So what are you doing today Inuyasha?" asked Kagome.

"I have to take some of the warriors on a scouting mission. It shouldn't take more than a day so I'll be back for dinner. We think the wolf mongrel might be snooping around the edge of MY territory. Probably looking for you the stupid bastard." Inuyasha grumbled angrily. Kagome hadn't seen Kouga since the encounter at Kaede's but Inuyasha seemed really irritated by the idea of Kouga wanting to see Kagome. Kagome looked worried.

"A scouting mission? Will it be dangerous?" asked Kagome worried for Inuyasha's safety. The hanyou snorted.

"Feh! No. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen as long as that winter storm from the north doesn't set in. The seasons sure changed suddenly, it was just a cool fall last week now winter is setting in fast." Inuyasha observed sagely. Kagome smiled slightly. Inuyasha was always worried about winter weather though even though it had got extremely cold out in the last week there was no need to truly worry in Kagome's opinion. She had yet to see a single sick hanyou but then again Inuyasha WOULD know more about this than her.

Kagome had little time to practice with all the work and the village children to entertain. She tried her best to find time but she was always so tired after everything else. The rumors about her were also stressing her out, instead of earning the village's respect through putting up with their demands she ended up making the rumors about her being a desperate whore more solidified. When news that she had refused an offer to stay at Sango's had spread around she was given even more dirty looks.

Speaking of Sango, things were kind of iffy there. Sango was always training and when they talked Kagome always got the impression that Sango pitied her, looked down on her. Kagome didn't appreciate it and found it insulting. She thought they were equals, you know, friends but apparently Sango thought Kagome to be naïve.

"Well I wont be out in the storm if there is one, I'm just going to run to the market quickly and make sure the children are okay." Said Kagome. Inuyasha nodded and got up to leave. Kagome stood and after getting her shawl they left the cave and headed towards the opposite side of the plateau.

The skys were overcast and looked ominous, Inuyasha voiced this of course and the beating wind didn't help. As they walked Inuyasha had his arm around Kagome and was using his haori sleeves to block the wind from hitting Kagome. When they reached the training area they found all the shops were closed and there were only the warriors outside. Inuyasha stopped at the edge of the road on the plateau.

"I shouldn't have let you walk with me this time. Hurry up and get back to the cave alright? I think it's going to storm soon." Kagome nodded and ran off. She waved Inuyasha off as he jumped off the road to land on the flat plain of the ground and run towards the warriors.

Kagome was walking back to the cave in the harsh winds and the bitter cold. She pulled the shawl tight and as she was passing a ladder that led to the top of the plateau she heard an anguished scream. Kagome thought it sounded like a child and got worried. She began to climb up the ladder, praying it would stay stable against the plateau.

When she reached the top she ran towards where she heard a murmur of talking. She came upon a hut in the village that was surrounded by hanyous. Kagome pushed through the crowd and into the hut. She saw an interesting scene indeed.

A dog hanyou that she found was very flirty with Inuyasha, Megumi, was there, as well as her father, Aiko. There was a young hanyou boy about 6-years-old or so and he looked to be in extreme pain he had a large black eye on the right side of his face but what seemed to be bothering him was his stomach. He clutched it and made whimpering sounds. He was a dragon hanyou by the looks of it. The only other people in the room were two male hanyous who Kagome didn't know by name and a human woman in her 40's or so, she was being held by the arms by the male hanyous.

"What is going on her?" demanded Sango who just came upon the scene. She was dressed in combat clothes from a quickly ended training lesson and had some of her training partners with her. She turned to the hanyous wearing similar armor and asked them to keep everyone out of the room or tell them to leave.

"Don't you dare come in here asking questions you rotten human woman!" Aiko snarled at Sango. Kagome saw Sango's anger spike so she set a calming hand on her arm and was ready to hold the older woman back if she must.

The 40-year-old woman was struggling in the arms of the hanyous but they had no trouble restraining her. She looked angrily at Aiko and Megumi; she was one of the few humans in the village. She was tall and thin, she had the look of someone who was once envied for her beauty. She had long black hair that was tented gray from old age, it was in a long braid down her back. She had large blue eyes that suggested she wasn't a typical adult. She wore priestess garbs like Kaede but her hakamas were black. She had a black tattoo on her cheek of a crescent moon.

"Who are you?" asked Kagome curiously. Sango looked at the woman too.

The woman blinked and looked at them. "Oh? Me? My name is Trinity. Nice to meet you!" She said friendly. Kagome and Sango stared at her in shock. 'What a mood swing.' And as if Trinity had read Kagome's mind she went back to glaring daggers at Megumi and Aiko. "You! Get out of my hut now!" Trinity demanded. Megumi smirked and turned her nose up at the demand.

"Not until we finish this trial. You hurt a hanyou in the pack and you will be punished! I think an execution would be appropriate don't you father?" Megumi sneered.

Trinity didn't seem fazed by the threat. Outside cheering voices of approval could be heard from the hanyous who were convinced that the humans in the village were dirt. Kagome came to the conclusion that the young boy was the one they were accusing Trinity of hurting. Kagome crouched next to the boy.

"Are you alright?" asked Kagome in concern. She inspected the bruise and then began to feel around the boy's stomach to see if there was any other reason besides an internal one that would make the child hurt. The boy whimpered and opened his violet eyes to stare at Kagome pleadingly. Kagome remembered this boy from the group of children that visited her. "Hey there, Takuto. Where does it hurt, sweetie?" asked Kagome maternally.

"M-My body hurts real bad! I feel like I'm on fire! Make it stop." The boy pleaded. Kagome saw that the boy was sweating profusely and had a very bad fever.

"I came in to offer Trinity some breakfast since I knew she was too much of a bum to be able to feed her own son. I came in and I saw her punch the poor child! Naturally I was concerned, so—." Megumi's story was interrupted by Trinity laughing.

"You don't have any food with you now you liar! I would never hit Takuto!" Trinity laughed like the very idea was the most hilarious thing she ever heard. Megumi glared at Trinity.

"What is wrong with him? Do you know?" asked Kagome.

Trinity suddenly looked concerned. "Yes. He has that illness that comes in the winter season." She said. Kagome frowned in concern. She started to try and draw miko energy to help the child but she couldn't do it. "You the new priestess?" asked Trinity in mild interest. Kagome nodded absently, not taking her eyes off Takuto.

"You two! Let her go now! Do you want me to tell Inuyasha that you helped these fools? You know any judgments like executions can't be made without the alpha!" Sango shouted at the two male hanyous. They suddenly looked nervous and scrammed.

"We are not leaving until we see justice!" Aiko demanded. Trinity got a bemused look on her face.

"I didn't hit him. But if you want to know who did you might want to look at his face. Obviously someone who is left handed hit him. I'm not left handed but I'm sure someone as popular in the village as MEGUMI could say who is. Tell us Megumi." Trinity insisted with a friendly smile. Megumi realized the insinuation and got nervous.

"Come on father! Let's go wait for the scouting party to return I so miss my dear Inuyasha!" Megumi said sweetly as she passed Kagome. Kagome visibly winced and Trinity noticed. Sango left with Megumi and Aiko to make sure they didn't try anything.

Trinity plopped down across from Kagome on the other side of Takuto. "So…you are the girl that seems to be the talk of the pack!" Trinity said conversationally. "You don't look like a whore to me…but then again I'M not a child abuser so you cant believe every rumor you hear in this village…" Trinity said with a smile. Kagome looked up at her and smiled back. Trinity wasn't so bad; apparently she was also going through some reputation problems in the pack. Trinity seemed nice enough and could also relate to Kagome.

"I heard you are a priestess." Kagome said. Trinity nodded in affirmation. "Then can you show me how to help your son?" asked Kagome hopefully. Trinity smiled.

"Sure!" she yelled happily. She showed Kagome how to hold her hands above the child and how to draw out her powers. "Now use your miko energy to draw the illness to Takuto's skin and allow it to meld with his aura. When it is all out of his body use your energy to purify his aura, don't use too much purification energy or you might turn him human!" Trinity warned good naturedly. Kagome was able to do all this and when she was done she was happy to see Takuto recovering from his ill state. "Glad you could handle that. I've been working on running this place for so long that I didn't have enough energy to heal him myself!"

"Run this place?" Kagome questioned.

Trinity nodded sagely. "Yep. I control the spells around this village. Everyone thinks I'm just a kook though so no one knows I'm the one keeping the spells running twenty-four seven. They assume the God Tree is doing it."

"What! I'm sure they would stop hassling you all the time if you told them the truth." Kagome insisted.

Trinity gave her a skeptical look. "And is that why you've told the villagers that you are going to save their lives when the illness and death comes in the winter?" Kagome blushed in embarrassment and could now see her point. Trinity didn't need to prove anything to them. If they had enough sense to treat her nice in the first place there wouldn't be a problem, why does she have to prove her worth to them? It was no ones business besides hers and her alpha, in this case Inuyasha.

"I understand. So you don't want me to tell them what you do for them?" asked Kagome. Trinity shrugged nonchalantly. "So…how did you come by raising Takuto?"

Trinity picked up the peacefully sleeping Takuto and set him on a futon in the corner of the hut. "It was not long after my mate died…a pack of dragon demons approached me with Takuto when he was a baby. His parents had been executed by some humans for what they had done, conceiving a half demon, and now the pack his father was apart of wanted their blood to live on even in the hanyou and gave him to me. I was a priestess and they figured I would be most tolerant of a half demon child. I love Takuto as if he were my own."

"You were mated to someone?" said Kagome.

Trinity smiled. "Yes, his name was Iichi, he was one of the first dog hanyous to grace this earth. He died about 7 years ago and I've been living here ever since Midoriko bestowed the duties of running these spells on me. Even though he's gone I will continue to age like he would have if he hadn't died, unless I purify the mark on my neck."

"Midoriko?"

"She was asked to create this paradise we call home. Inuyasha's father came to her and he asked that she create this place for his son to one day live in peace. Inuyasha inherited it and a sword, no one knows where this sword is unfortunately, and then gathered a pack of hanyous a good 100 years ago. Midoriko knew of my powers and my longevity so she came to me at the end of her life so she could instruct me on how to run this joint."

"Wow…that's amazing…so you run this entire place. And Inuyasha isn't aware of this? He just lets you stay because your husband was a hanyou?" Trinity nodded. "So what about this illness that comes in the winter?" asked Kagome.

"Well it's only been happening recently but I don't think it's natural. Some outside force is creating this illness and is trying to kill the hanyou pack form the inside." Trinity said conspiratorially. Kagome leaned in close as she continued in a whisper. "This illness started when this hanyou was ousted from the pack. His name was Naraku. All we heard about him though is that he went north and no one knows where he is. He hates Inuyasha…he wanted to take over the pack but he lost in a domination fight. Inuyasha as affirmed alpha male banished Naraku."

"Hmm…If no one has seen him since then I can't see how it could be him, but I'll keep a look out for anything suspicious." Kagome said seriously. Trinity showed no signs of hearing her. She was looking out the window at the vicious blizzard hitting the village.

"It's really bad. The scouting party should have been back for shelter by now…" This statement immediately worried Kagome. As if on cue they heard shouts outside. Broken sentences with words like "Inuyasha", "dead", and "surprise attack." Kagome got to her feet and dashed out of the hut. Trinity followed behind.

Kagome saw some hanyous going down the ladders to caves. Kagome followed and went down to find that one of the caves on the street Inuyasha's was on was surrounded by hanyous who were both trying to get out of the storm but trying not to be a nuisance to those tending to the injured.

Kagome pushed through the crowd urgently. Praying that Inuyasha wasn't really dead like she thought, she was able to see those who were injured in the scouting party and gasped when she saw Inuyasha wasn't breathing. They were about to draw a cloth over him like they did with the rest of the dead when Kagome broke down into loud sobs.

"NOO! Don't'! He cant be dead!" Kagome ran to Inuyasha and fell on her knees next to him, paying no mind to the hanyou drawing up the blanket. She began to cry on his body hysterically, everyone was quiet and the hanyou with the blanket stopped. He stepped back from the girl. Kagome buried her face in his haori and cried. Blood had trickled from his mouth; he was badly bruised and might have had several broken bones. His heart had gone into cardiac arrest and he was gone before anyone could do anything, just seconds before Kagome arrived on the scene. "Please don't leave me alone!" Kagome pounded her tiny fists on his chest at the same time, shocked by what happened then…

A/N: hey! Schools out! dances around happily Read and review people!


	7. Near Death Opens My Eyes

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Memoirs of a Geisha - (grumble wish I did though…pout)

Chapter 7: Near Death Opens My Eyes

"NOO! Don't'! He can't be dead!" Kagome ran to Inuyasha and fell on her knees next to him, paying no mind to the hanyou drawing up the blanket. She began to cry on his body hysterically, everyone was quiet and the hanyou with the blanket stopped. He stepped back from the girl. Kagome buried her face in his haori and cried. Blood had trickled from his mouth; he was badly bruised and might have had several broken bones. His heart had gone into cardiac arrest and he was gone before anyone could do anything, just seconds before Kagome arrived on the scene. "Please don't leave me alone!" Kagome pounded her tiny fists on his chest at the same time, shocked by what happened then…

Lavender light burst from the space between her fists and his chest and Inuyasha seemed to jump at the impact of her fist, as if electricity has shot through him (think those paddles that they use to bring people back to life) Kagome gasped when after she hit him breath went rushing through his parted lips and he inhaled suddenly. Kagome stared at him in awe. Inuyasha made a groaning noise from the pain and his eyes began to move behind his eye lids.

Kagome was filled with so much relief that it was like someone had dumped a bucket of water on her, it came rushing through her. Kagome stared at Inuyasha with tears in her eyes. "He's alive! Oh God thank you!" Kagome cried happily. She hugged him but when he groaned again in pain she thought it a good idea to heal him up.

"Don't worry I'll make the pain go away." She whispered to the hanyou she had grown to love. She pressed the pads of her slender fingers to his temple and closed her eyes. Behind her eyes lids there was not the usual darkness but flashing images of Inuyasha's body from the inside. As she channeled her miko energy into him she wove his arteries and veins back together, she eased the pain from bruises and forced bones to return to their unfractured forms. Inuyasha's breathing became less labored and he seemed to be waking up from his sleep. Kagome was nearing completion in healing him when he awoke and brought his large clawed hands up to cover her small slender ones.

"Is this heaven?" Inuyasha whispered hoarsely, causing Kagome to flow energy to his throat to heal it up. Kagome smiled with her eyes closed and a tear slipped down her cheek. Miroku had arrived on the scene and had pushed his way past the shocked and happy hanyous to stand next to a stunned Sango.

"What's happened? I heard Inuyasha was dead!" Miroku shouted in urgency. Sango pointed dumbstruck at the intimate pair on the ground. Miroku looked at them and couldn't stop the perverted grin that tugged at his mouth.

Miroku looked at Sango sharply when she spoke. "K-Kagome…she…brought him back to life!" Sango said in astonishment. There was a murmur among the hanyous behind them and they seemed to have realized they had misjudged Kagome a little. Trinity suddenly came out of no where and stood next to Sango.

"Kagome has practically unlimited growth potential. She is going to make a fine priestess but I don't think her geisha days are over either…" Trinity said sagely. Sango stared at her like. 'Where the hell did you come from?' Trinity smiled congenially at Sango and waved even though they were standing right next to each other. "Yo!" Sango said a meek hello while Miroku laughed at Trinity's antics. Trinity began to walk idly among the injured and dead. "Oi! Kagome! This guy is bleeding pretty badly! Stop tending to your lover boy and give this guy some lovin' !"

Kagome blushed at Trinity's words and looked down at Inuyasha who was growling and glaring at Trinity the best he could. Kagome released the spell she had on the hanyou and slowly stood. She walked toward the guy Trinity pointed out and began to heal him without a word.

Inuyasha began to growl louder when Kagome left him. He glared at Trinity wishing that with the sheer might of his death glare that she would burst into flames. When it didn't happen and she continued to smile at him and even waved he gave up. Inuyasha watched tiredly as Miroku took a seat next to him on the ground. He tucked his monk robes under him as he sat much like Kagome did with her kimono when she sat.

"What?" Inuyasha grouched; he just wanted Kagome to come back. After nearly dying he was a little anxious when he couldn't reach out and touch her. He was now surer of his feelings when it came to the geisha/priestess.

"I was worried for you my friend, though apparently Kagome was in hysterics." Miroku commented innocently. Inuyasha looked over at Kagome and grumbled incoherently. Miroku didn't even attempt to hear him. "You shouldn't scare us like that, it isn't nice." Miroku was surprised when Inuyasha began to get up; though wobbly about it he was sitting up and attempting to stand. "What are you doing! You need to rest!"

"Feh! I'm fine. Kagome needs me." Inuyasha said with conviction. Miroku watched curiously as Inuyasha stumbled over to Kagome who was engrossed in healing another hanyou. Inuyasha plopped on his knees behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. It caused the poor miko to jump in surprise; she didn't open her eyes though because she knew who it was.

"Inuyasha…what are you doing?" asked Kagome with a red tint to her cheeks.

Inuyasha scoffed. "I can smell your anxiety and I WAS going to sleep but you smelled worried so I'm here to make you relax." Kagome blushed harder and let Inuyasha hold her. She was surprised he would do this in front of the pack members but happy all the same.

Kagome healed up all of the hanyous that were not dead and when she found it too late to revive the others like she did Inuyasha she just sat on the ground and rested. She was beat and just wanted to relax and regain her strength. Inuyasha sat behind her holding her silently.

Some of the hanyous went back to their respective caves and huts when the excitement had died down. The healed hanyous were now helping some of the other hanyous move their dead pack mates to the burial grounds in the woods. Kagome watched as Sango and Miroku came over to her and Inuyasha and gently forced Inuyasha to release her. Kagome allowed them to unwrap his arms from her and watched sleepily as Miroku helped Inuyasha walk out of the cave and towards Inuyasha's cave. Kagome allowed Sango to walk her out to Inuyasha's cave as well.

Kagome awoke around noon the next morning. She was still in her kimono from the day before. She looked up at the man who held her to see a sleeping Inuyasha. His face had been cleaned up so there was no blood and his bruises were gone. He shifted in his sleep, unknowingly pulling Kagome closer and sniffing into her hair.

Kagome smiled up at him gently. She reached up to stroke a doggy ear as he slept. He leaned into the touch, her slender fingers moving over the short soft silver hair. Kagome buried her face in his haori covered chest.

"I love you…" she whispered, she didn't expect him to hear her so she paid no mind when he stiffened beneath her. "Don't EVER scare me like that again you jerk." She said affectionately. Inuyasha was now awake but decided he wanted to just let her think he was asleep for a little while longer. 'I love you too Kagome…but those damn elders…GRR! They can just screw themselves!' Inuyasha thought angrily. When Kagome heard growling she looked up at Inuyasha curiously. "Are you awake, Inuyasha?" asked Kagome.

Inuyasha opened his eyes and stared down at Kagome. "Feh! Morning Kagome. Why isn't breakfast ready?" he complained. Kagome glared at him.

"You ungrateful mutt! I save your life yesterday and THIS is the thanks I get? 'Why isn't breakfast ready?" she imitated the hanyou the best she could with her high pitched feminine voice.

Inuyasha smirked; she looked real sexy when she was mad. Inuyasha decided to mess with her a little. He rolled over so he was on top of her and she was pinned to the furs. He licked her cheek suddenly, causing her to blush crimson. "Thanks." He growled affectionately as he stroked her hour glass figure with his large clawed hands. When a tidal wave in the form of arousal hit his senses Inuyasha purred in approval and licked her cheek again. Kagome shivered at his attentions but was surprised when he suddenly jumped off of her.

Inuyasha shook his head vigorously. 'Woah! Movin' a little fast there.' Inuyasha scolded himself. He looked down at the flushed and slightly panting Kagome. 'Then again…she was DEFINITELY into it…no! I need to get out of here fast!' Inuyasha gulped nervously.

"I-I'm going to check on the pack." Inuyasha darted out of the cave, as if he was never hurt.

Kagome lay stunned on the furs, not knowing what to do. She eventually decided she should get up and do the errands she wanted to do yesterday. She got dressed into a nice kimono and made her way into the market. There was snow covering the ground and the sun was barely peeking through the white clouds above. Kagome made it to the market road around the plateau and was surprised by the way the hanyous were acting around her.

Most of the hanyous were giving her kind smiles and waving to her. Some bowed when she passed their faces holding looks of remorse, possibly for the way they had treated her. Kagome blushed when one young male hanyou winked at her playfully. She briefly wondered why Inuyasha didn't do that to her more but quickly shook the thought away. As she approached the woman who she was currently paying off debts for, this time a cat demon who once believed her to be the slut sleeping with her mate. Kagome bowed in respect and was about to ask what her duties today would be. She had to pay off a debt for all the food she needed for the next two weeks. This cat demon had the largest variety so it would be best to go to her for a lot of different foods.

The cat demon was in her 30's and looked a little anxious. She was absently biting a sharp nail with her fangs. She looked up at Kagome in surprise as if she just popped out of no where. "Oh…you're finally here!" the cat demon rushed over to the lightly bowing Kagome and fell into a full blown throw-yourself-on-the-ground bow. Kagome blinked in surprise. "My daughter! She's caught the disease! Please help her!" the cat demoness begged.

Kagome was suddenly led into the back of the shop and up a ladder that went up the side of the plateau to the home of the cat demoness. She followed her inside to find a young girl in her pre-teens who had the same symptoms that Takuto had. Kagome crouched down beside the girl and healed her like Trinity had shown her. She was a little tired from the long walk to the shop and healing so she rested next to the sleeping child.

"Thank you so much! No more debts! In fact, take all the food you want!" the cat demoness gushed. Kagome smiled gratefully then looked down at the child in concern.

"So when did you notice she was sick?" asked Kagome.

"A few days ago…she came home from taking a dip at the hot springs and she had such a terrible fever, at first I thought it was dehydration from the springs but it wouldn't stop." The cat demoness said in a rush. "A bunch of children came down with the illness a few days ago. They live on the plateau. Maybe you should go help them." Kagome nodded in agreement and stood to leave. "I'm…sorry for the way I treated you, my husband admitted that he was lying when he said you slept with him…I promise I'll try to stop the elders from talking about you like that." Kagome stood with her back turned to the cat demoness for a minute. She then turned and smiled kindly down at her.

"You don't have to apologize, and don't worry about the elders. They will accept me just like you have one day. Don't go and get yourself in trouble with them too. Make sure she gets a lot of rest alright?" Kagome nodded to the young girl and then left.

"I'll have someone send your food up to the alpha cave! Thank you so much!" the cat demoness called out as Kagome left.

Kagome made her way up to the top of the plateau and when she did she discovered that about a dozen children were ill. She went around to all the huts she could before sunset, healing all the sickly children. She noticed a pattern as time went on. Most of the sick children lived around the hot springs. 'And the cat hanyou's child got sick after visiting the springs…could there be a connection?' Kagome wondered as she dragged herself back to Inuyasha's cave, extremely tired from a long day of healing.

In a village tavern just south of the plateau…

"Here, have another drink my friend." Miroku slurred groggily, his mind clouded by sake. The other warrior hanyous that tagged along for a drink were singing in the background and some were dancing on the tables. Inuyasha took the offered dish like cup of sake and downed it in one gulp.

"I can't get the damn bitch off my mind Miroku…" Inuyasha growled in frustration once he slapped the cup on the bar counter. The tavern owner got out another bottle for the two friends. Miroku nodded in understanding, being far more drunk than the hanyou but still able to think clearly through the haze. The only reason Inuyasha wasn't as drunk was because hanyous held their liquor better.

"Then mate with her!" Miroku suggested happily, a goofy grin on his face. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and glared at Miroku.

"I already told you! I CAN'T! Those…those damn elderly peoples! They said I can't be with her…what if they convince the pack to mutiny against me! They could do it! They are senile like that!" Inuyasha shouted angrily. Miroku nodded solemnly.

"You are right my friend…no girl is worth all that mess! In fact you should kill her, get rid of both youse guyses miseries." Miroku slurred but with a slightly sly look on his face that Inuyasha didn't notice.

"Kagome is misery?" Inuyasha slurred in confusion.

Miroku nods. "Yep! She wants to sleep with you but you won't! So now that it is impossible she will be misery for the rest of hers lifes…" Miroku slurred back, vaguely waving his hands around in his drunken stupor.

"Kagome misery…" Inuyasha's head rammed the counter suddenly causing Miroku to drop the drunken façade and look down in alarm. When he heard Inuyasha continue he quickly went back to his act. "I love her…I don't want her misery…nothing is worth her being misery! I'se a in LOVE with her! How could I let her be misery! I…totally SUCK!" Miroku was laughing hysterically on the inside at his crazy drunk friend. And his friend continuing to say "misery" instead of "miserable" was also funny. He lightly chuckled. But that was halted by his next words. "I go mate with her NOW!" Inuyasha stumbled off the stool and nearly fell flat on his face.

"W-Wait! You can't just go to her NOW! You're drunk!" Miroku dropped the act and stood in the hanyou's way. "She will hate you if you rape her in this state Inuyasha. Just sit back down, you've had too much to drink and need to sleep it off."

Inuyasha growled in irritation and lightly shoved Miroku out of his way, at least he intended to do it lightly but the result became Miroku falling into a table, irritating the hanyou dancing on it. The bat hanyou jumped down and looked around blurrily. "Wha's goin on? Can't you see I was in the middle of a VERY important work related dance?" the hanyou slurred.

"Stop Inuyasha! He's going to make a big mistake!" Miroku insisted while the alpha hanyou had already reached the door and was leaving.

The bat hanyou contemplated this order for a minute. "Hey Inuyasha! Where's ya goin'?" asked the hanyou. Said dog hanyou turned and grinned goofily.

"I'sa goin' to mate with Kagome! DUH!" Inuyasha jumped off into the night and the hanyous began to hoot and wolf whistle.

"YOU LUCKY DOG! GO GET HER!" the bat hanyou hollered out. Miroku glared at the bat hanyou in irritation. 'morons…cant even hold their liquor better than a humble monk…and I thought hanyous had high tolerance…' Miroku sighed in defeat knowing he would not be able to reach Inuyasha in time he made a prayer to Buddha and sat back down.

"I'll have another sake please." Miroku said soberly.

Kagome sighed as she cleaned off the plates of uneaten food from dinner in the water trough. She had made a plate for Inuyasha but he never came home. Kagome was just beginning to worry when she heard the padding of feet. She looked up in surprise to see Inuyasha stumble into the cave.

"Hey Kagome…" Inuyasha said huskily. He looked more sober now but his eyes were still glassy. He was no longer slurring. "I want you right now. So don't expect much sleep tonight…" Inuyasha growled lustily as he strides to her quickly and picked her up bridal style. Kagome eeped in surprise and allowed Inuyasha to carry her to their room, not totally sure what was going on.

"Inuyasha? Are you okay? You look sick or something…" Kagome asked concerned. She felt his forehead, not expecting him to steal a kiss while she was distracted. It was hot and passionate and she couldn't help but kiss the man she loved back.

"I'll be fine once I've had you…as long as that is alright with you…" Inuyasha added a little unsure now. He laid her out on the furs waiting for her approval to go on.

Kagome blushed prettily. "I love you Inuyasha…" he took that as approval and eagerly bent down for another kiss.

A/N: LOL did I mention I LOVE cliffys? Sorry guys…review please!


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